Energy Recovery in China desal contract

San Leandro, Calif.-based Energy Recovery (Nasdaq: ERII) announced today that its PX Pressure Exchanger system will be used in one of China's largest seawater desalination plants in a deal the company signed with Singapore's Hyflux.

The Hyflux contract comes less than four weeks after Energy Recovery made its debut on the public markets, pricing its initial public offering of 14 million shares at $8.50 per share (see Energy Recovery prices IPO near top of range).

That was near the top of an expected $7 to $9 price range for the company, which makes energy recovery devices for the water desalination industry. Energy Recovery's shares were trading up 5.38 percent at $11.36 in afternoon trading today.

The Tianjin Dagang Newspring Desalination Plant will be located along China's northeastern border near Beijing and is expected to pump out 100,000 cubic meters of fresh water per day for domestic and industrial use.

"In China, and particularly in some of the big coastal cities, the shortage of traditional water resources has made desalination a necessary choice," said Borja Blanco, VP and general manager of Energy Recovery's Mega Projects Division.

"This is the first large membrane desalination project of many that are already planned and approved in the government's five-year-plan."

The project will supply approximately 10 percent of Tianjin's daily water consumption. It's being designed with 144 of Energy Recovery's PX-220 Pressure Exchanger devices to reduce energy and lifecycle costs. Energy Recovery said the devices will save the project an estimated 8.6 megawatts of energy.

The desalination plant is scheduled to be complete by the end of this year.